People who have hundreds on unread (work) email

facehugger99 · 03-02-2020 03:00PM

I read and file them all unless the sender puts that 'high importance' exclamation mark thing on them - those I just delete.

machaseh · 03-02-2020 03:01PM

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

This was back when inbox space was limited and people had to periodically delete large batches of emails to save space.

I still have to do that every few months or so. In 2020. That's how many emails I get.

v638sg7k1a92bx · 03-02-2020 03:02PM

bluewolf wrote: »

I've a ton of subfolders so everything gets read and filed straight away. Main inbox is my to do list

How do you move your emails to subfolders, is it drop and drag or do you have short cuts?

Johnny Sausage · 03-02-2020 03:04PM

Patrick Few Honeysuckle wrote: »

How do you move your emails to subfolders, is it drop and drag or do you have short cuts?

you can set up rules

Wildly Boaring · 03-02-2020 03:07PM

Zero

I always have zero

If it's useless or some auto mail or notification....delete
cced and i don't care....read first sentence and delete
cced and really don't care i will write a note to sender to remove me from cc .....and delete
If's it's useful or I'm cced genuinely....read and delete
Useful...read and file
Need to reply....read and stays in inbox until i reply....then delete or file

Currently 18 read emails in inbox
4 are bills I don't want to pay
5 or 6 I very important, i've replied and awaiting response
Rest I need to get back to and will today.

Get between 50 and 100 a day I'd say
Good shot - 50ish are deleted straight away, maybe more
I will read anything cced in by someone under me
I don't turn on outlook before say 10, then turn off till lunch, usually on all afternoon.
Do not have on phone

i'm equally ruthless with meetings
I go once if invited at end if pointless I go up to organiser and get myself uninvited
Based on construction sites a lot. We tend to avoid meetings and email where possible, In the office maybe 2 days a week different game altogether

v638sg7k1a92bx · 03-02-2020 03:07PM

Johnny Sausage wrote: »

you can set up rules

Yes but I like to read them before I move to a folder. I have a folder for each client and after I read the email it gets filed in the client folder.

Tony EH · 03-02-2020 03:13PM

0

And I get a lot as I deal with EMEA, APAC and LATAM every day.

Thing is, I know which ones to really pay attention to and which ones are just for glancing at quickly.

Anyone who has 100's (or more) of UNREAD emails isn't doing their job.

RobertKK · 03-02-2020 03:22PM

Only 62,437. It could be worse.

Mrs OBumble · 03-02-2020 03:30PM

moycullen14 wrote: »

No, he's right. Email is fine for notifications and so on. It is absolutely NOT a substitute for a conversation/communication. Much the same can be said for texting. It just elongates the process. Maybe I'm getting old, but the lack of phone conversations in the modern office is startling. People just hide behind emails. Don't start me on the passive aggressive BS you have to put up with. Grrrrr

I'm happy to talk.

But unless you're important or the issue is genuinely urgent, it needs to be at a mutually agree convenient time, not just whenever it occurs go you to interrupt me.

Google effect of interruption on flow state if you need help to figure out why.

03-02-2020 03:31PM

Patrick Few Honeysuckle wrote: »

Yes but I like to read them before I move to a folder. I have a folder for each client and after I read the email it gets filed in the client folder.

drop and drag
or copy and drag if it fits in 2 categories

partyguinness · 03-02-2020 03:35PM

Our IT guy told me I have circa 40k emails on the server which far outstrips anyone else.

10 years ago I didn't even have a computer on my desk- I had a typist for that stuff. I spent my time actually doing the job properly. Now I could all time just reading and replying but getting nothing done.

IamMetaldave · 03-02-2020 03:41PM

0 unread. Although much like others here, if I am CC on it, I pay no attention to it. I have rules set up on 90% of regular emails to go to their respective folders.

is_that_so · 03-02-2020 03:45PM

I use folders and lots of rules which helps in prioritising them. I have rarely got to more than a dozen in my Inbox, save after holidays.

con___manx1 · 03-02-2020 03:53PM

Some people in my work place have access to work emails on there phones.
I refuse to do it. I don't give a crap about work when it's time to go home.
I don't get paid for that.

partyguinness · 03-02-2020 04:01PM

con___manx1 wrote: »

Some people in my work place have access to work emails on there phones.
I refuse to do it. I don't give a crap about work when it's time to go home.
I don't get paid for that.

I get emails to my phone- my choice.

I don't answer them but it is just so I know what's in store rather than coming into the office blind- that stresses me out even more. Sort of a heads up really.

NSAman · 03-02-2020 04:13PM

con___manx1 wrote: »

Some people in my work place have access to work emails on there phones.
I refuse to do it. I don't give a crap about work when it's time to go home.
I don't get paid for that.

It is a choice.

Monday mornings I get up around 4am and browse through all emails before going into work. Sitting there with mug of tea watching the news and browsiing through the weekends emails is an easy way to pick and choose the most important and organise the day ahead.

I usually do this on my iPad.

This morning there were 300 emails to go through, the first hour to two hours of a morning are spent emailing and catching up on emails. The rest of the day are free then to work until everyone in the office has gone home (4pm) and I answer any important ones that have arrived that day.

Emails can waste a huge portion of the day, I like to spend specific hours of the day reading/responding to the most important.

As others have said, there is nothing like a phone call to solve an issue, if it is that important.

Rufeo · 03-02-2020 05:44PM

Seriously reading the behaviour in this thread is what makes working in offices so shyte. lol

Hector Savage · 03-02-2020 05:50PM

Colonel Claptrap wrote: »

I used to work with a guy who came back from 2 weeks holiday and deleted everything unread.

His mantra was: if it's really important, they'd follow up or call me.

This was back when inbox space was limited and people had to periodically delete large batches of emails to save space.

Yeah, I knew a guy that did similar - he would set up a rule while away though, to just forward everything to the trash can.

Same idea, if it's important they will follow up.

03-02-2020 06:21PM

Zero unread, I read all mails as they come in during the day/evening (both personal and work) and catch up on anything that comes in over night the next morning (sometimes in bed before I even get up on the phone or else over a cup of tea at work while I'm waking up). I couldn't stand to have unread mails.

I have my work email setup along side my personal email in the mail app on my iPhone so anytime I refresh the app I get all my mails and will flick though them be it evening, weekend or on holidays etc. I never arrive in on a Monday or back from a holiday to any unread mails bar those that come in the night before. I flag stuff that needs action and delete junk as I go.

ednwireland · 03-02-2020 06:29PM

zero unread, that goes back for a few years just migrated into gmail enterprise as well

03-02-2020 06:42PM

I keep it at 0 as I hate having the little red icon on my phone.

miezekatze · 03-02-2020 08:30PM

I have a lot of rules set up in outlook that automatically move emails I don't really need to read to certain folders. I always just mark those as read without looking at them. Everything else I do read. I wouldn't want to leave lots of emails sitting there as unread, things would get a bit overwhelming I think.

03-02-2020 10:01PM

None.

I check my email four or five times a day and read them then. They get
- Deleted
- Filed into the relevant folder if it's just information that requires no action / response
- Replied to (if it's relatively quick)
- Kept in inbox for action / to do later on.

I don't allow any more than 15 emails in my inbox at any one time. That's the most I can see on the screen without having to scroll down.

Every time I send an email I make sure that it has a relevant word(s) in the subject line. Makes searching afterwards so much easier.

Plenty of my colleagues have hundreds or sometimes thousands of unread mails. They tend to be less efficient, disorganised and frequently do not reply to important queries because the relevant email is buried in the pile. I honestly don't know how people work like that. I can see how email can become overwhelming but if it does, you need to take the time out to tidy them up.

voldejoie · 03-02-2020 10:04PM

I'm an 'inbox zero' person, but there is a new colleague who sits near me and sends me the most pointless emails maybe three or four times a day and right away comes over to me to ask "did you see my email?" Half the time when she comes over the email is just popping into my inbox :mad: I would love nothing more than to set up a rule that any emails from her get diverted!

v638sg7k1a92bx · 04-02-2020 12:14AM

Or the worst are colleagues who read emails, close them and then forget to reply so they have no way of flagging which emails they need to reply to because everything shows up as read.

moycullen14 · 04-02-2020 10:42AM

NewbridgeIR wrote: »

None.

I check my email four or five times a day and read them then. They get
- Deleted
- Filed into the relevant folder if it's just information that requires no action / response
- Replied to (if it's relatively quick)
- Kept in inbox for action / to do later on.

I don't allow any more than 15 emails in my inbox at any one time. That's the most I can see on the screen without having to scroll down.

Every time I send an email I make sure that it has a relevant word(s) in the subject line. Makes searching afterwards so much easier.

Plenty of my colleagues have hundreds or sometimes thousands of unread mails. They tend to be less efficient, disorganised and frequently do not reply to important queries because the relevant email is buried in the pile. I honestly don't know how people work like that. I can see how email can become overwhelming but if it does, you need to take the time out to tidy them up.

You have it sooooo wrong. Having a reputation for being organised and efficient is frankly the worst thing you can be in the jungle that is the modern office.

If I know that you will faithfully respond to any old crap that I send just means that you are ensuring you keep getting dumped on. 'I wonder what I'll do with this? I know, Ould Newbridge responds to everything, I'll send it there' Next thing you know, the issue is yours. That thing you see flying out the window is people's respect for you.

Us alpha office characters know this is a schoolboy error. Having a reputation for a large unread inbox (size is everything) means that people know they have to be clever to get your attention. Also, it defines your place in the hierarchy. It screams 'I AM TOO IMPORTANT TO DEAL WITH YOUR CRAP'.

There are people that I will never respond to because they are beneath me. They know that until they gain my respect there is no point in trying to catch my attention. Sending me more crap only pushes them further down the pecking order.

In short, a zero inbox means you're a sad sack, way down the food chain whilst a thumping 10K plus unread emails points to an apex predator. I know which one I am. Which one are you?

Jim Root · 04-02-2020 01:52PM

moycullen14 wrote: »

You have it sooooo wrong. Having a reputation for being organised and efficient is frankly the worst thing you can be in the jungle that is the modern office.

If I know that you will faithfully respond to any old crap that I send just means that you are ensuring you keep getting dumped on. 'I wonder what I'll do with this? I know, Ould Newbridge responds to everything, I'll send it there' Next thing you know, the issue is yours. That thing you see flying out the window is people's respect for you.

Us alpha office characters know this is a schoolboy error. Having a reputation for a large unread inbox (size is everything) means that people know they have to be clever to get your attention. Also, it defines your place in the hierarchy. It screams 'I AM TOO IMPORTANT TO DEAL WITH YOUR CRAP'.

There are people that I will never respond to because they are beneath me. They know that until they gain my respect there is no point in trying to catch my attention. Sending me more crap only pushes them further down the pecking order.

In short, a zero inbox means you're a sad sack, way down the food chain whilst a thumping 10K plus unread emails points to an apex predator. I know which one I am. Which one are you?

lol - i bet your a virgin.

wakka12 · 04-02-2020 11:50PM

4200
Just open emails directly concerning me

05-02-2020 01:14AM

wakka12 wrote: »

4200
Just open emails directly concerning me

Every work email I get directly concerns me, otherwise why would I be getting them?

Even if they didn’t I still couldn’t leave them unread, the only time my inbox has unread mail is when a new one comes in.

garrettod · 05-02-2020 01:39AM

Hi,

I've over 100 unread emails, that's despite the fact that I give significant time to reading emails every day.

Unfortunitely, I work in a large organisation that is completely riddled with teams who interact by email, due to being situated at different locations. Many of these messages are not important, or might be important but are not urgent.

In addition, I get emails from customers, some of which are important and urgent.

Way too much of my time is being taken up trying to ascertain if emails are important or not and it's impacting on my productivity levels, and even my personal life (stress, lack of sleep on occasion, worrying about people chasing me for all sorts of unreasonable stuff).

Has anyone a few suggestions for rules that I could set up on Outlook, to help reduce the number of emails that are landing in my inbox please? Someone mentioned emails that they were "cc'd" on earlier, can these be redirected to another folder, without me seeing them, for example?

Thanks to all.

People who have hundreds on unread (work) email

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